Simon Phillips

For other people named Simon Phillips, see Simon Phillips (disambiguation).

Simon Phillips
Background information
Born	(1957-02-06) 6 February 1957 London, England
Genres	Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion, jazz
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Drums, percussion, keyboards
Years active	1969–present
Associated acts	801, Phil Manzanera, Toto, The Who, Derek Sherinian, David Coverdale, Judas Priest, Far Corporation, RMS, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker Group, Ph.D., Doves of Fire, Gordon Giltrap, PSP
Website	www.simon-phillips.com

Simon Phillips (born 6 February 1957) is an English jazz, pop and rock drummer.

Career

Phillips began to play professionally at the age of twelve in his father's (Sid Phillips) Dixieland band for four years. He was then offered the chance to play in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. He quickly became a sought-after session player and in 1992, he released two instructional videos displaying some of his best work.

Phillips found an early prominence as the drummer on the 1976 LP 801 Live with Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno. He went on to play with a wide array of musicians including Big Jim Sullivan, Pete Townshend, Big Country, Toto, Steve Lukather and Los Lobotomys, Jeff Beck, Whitesnake, Jack Bruce, Brian Eno, Duncan Browne, Toyah, Mike Oldfield, Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Gary Moore, 10cc, Mick Jagger, Ph.D., Joe Satriani, Russ Ballard, Mike Rutherford, Phil Manzanera, John Wetton, flamenco guitarist Juan Martin, Asia, Stanley Clarke, Jimmy Earl, Derek Sherinian, Nik Kershaw, Gordon Giltrap, Camel and Jordan Rudess.

He was the drummer for The Who in their 1989 American reunion tour, and appeared on solo recordings by band members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. He has also worked with Tears For Fears on their album The Seeds of Love and with heavy metal act Judas Priest on Sin After Sin (1977) and Michael Schenker's debut album The Michael Schenker Group.

Phillips has played on, co-produced, and mixed five Derek Sherinian solo records - Inertia (2001), Black Utopia (2003), Mythology (2004), Blood of the Snake (2006), and Oceana (2011). He also co-produced and mixed two albums by Mike Oldfield. Phillips also appeared with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and others in the video for the 1983 A.R.M.S. concert benefit for Ronnie Lane. In the early 1980s, Phillips formed part of RMS with fellow session musicians, Mo Foster and Ray Russell.

He has released four studio albums of varying styles.

In 2006, Phillips released a DVD with his jazz band, Vantage Point, called Resolution with writer and pianist Jeff Babko, trumpeter Walt Fowler, saxophonist Brandon Fields and bassist Alphonso Johnson.

Toto

In 1992, Simon was asked to fill in for Jeff Porcaro after Porcaro died during rehearsals for the upcoming tour to promote Toto's Kingdom of Desire album. Steve Lukather stated that he would only go on tour so shortly after Porcaro died if Toto could get Simon to play the tour, so he was the first and only drummer that the band contacted to replace Porcaro. After the 1992/93 tour Simon was asked to join Toto as a permanent member.

Nicknamed "Si-Phi" or "Si" by his bandmates in Toto, Simon is noted to be the group's 'technical' guru; handling the engineering duties on both the 2002 Through the Looking Glass and 2006 Falling In Between albums. He also engineered the 1999 Livefields album, and the Live in Amsterdam DVD from 2003.

After the decision (15 July 2008) "to go their separate ways and begin new chapters in their lives", on 27 February 2010 former members of Toto announced on official band's website a reunion for a brief 2010 summer tour in Europe to honor their brother Mike Porcaro who is living with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). They also have scheduled more dates for a tour in 2011, ended up with the DVD performance in Villafranca Di Verona. Phillips is going to be touring with Toto in 2012.

Recent projects

In 2009, Phillips joined with keyboardist Philippe Saisse and bassist Pino Palladino in forming an instrumental jazz/funk rock trio: Phillips Saisse Palladino or PSP, who toured in Europe in 2009 through 2010, spotlighting the talents of each performer in the songs chosen for their set list. Phillips also performed on Joe Satriani's album Super Colossal, appearing on multiple tracks. Phillips appears in Alan Parsons' Art & Science of Sound Recording educational video series, as well as the program's single "All Our Yesterdays". He played in the Michael Schenker Group album In the Midst of Beauty and took part to the band's 30th Anniversary world tour in 2010. Phillips is featured on Hiromi Uehara's 2011 album, Voice.

Phillips playing in PSP in Rome, 2009

Selected Discography

Solo albums

• Protocol (1988)
• Force Majeure (1992)
• Symbiosis (1995)
• Another Lifetime (1997)
• Out of the Blue (1999)
• Vantage Point (2000)

801

• Listen Now (1976)
• 801 Live (1976)

Judas Priest

• Sin After Sin (1977)

Duncan Browne

• The Wild Places (1977)
• Streets of Fire (1979)

Phil Manzanera

• K-Scope (1978)

Jeff Beck

• There and Back (1980)

Mike Rutherford

• Smallcreep's Day (1980)

Michael Schenker Group

• The Michael Schenker Group (1980)
• In the Midst of Beauty (2008)
• The 30th Anniversary Concert – Live in Tokyo (2010)
• Temple of Rock (2011)

Ph.D

• Ph.D. (1981)
• Is It Safe? (1983)
• Three (2009)

Jon Anderson

• Song of Seven (1981)
• Animation (1982)

Toyah

• The Changeling (1982)
• Warrior Rock: Toyah on Tour (1982)

Mike Oldfield

• Crises (1983)
• Discovery (1984)
• Islands (1987)
• Heaven's Open (1991)

Russ Ballard

• Russ Ballard (1984)

David Gilmour

• Live at the Royal Albert Hall London (Colombian Volcano Concert) (1986)

The Who

• The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend (1989)
• Join Together (1990)
• Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin [Track 4] (1991)
• Thirty Years of Maximum R&B [Disc 4, tracks 19 & 21] (1994)
• Greatest Hits Live [Disc 2, tracks 1-5] (2010)

Big Country

• The Buffalo Skinners (1993)

Toto

• Absolutely Live (1993)
• Tambu (1995)
• Toto XX (1998)
• Mindfields (1999)
• Livefields (1999)
• Through the Looking Glass (2002)
• Live in Amsterdam (2003)
• Falling in Between (2006)
• Falling in Between Live (2007)

Disney

• The Lion King: Rhythm of the Pride Lands (1995)

Derek Sherinian

• Inertia (2001)
• Black Utopia (2003)
• Mythology (2004)
• Blood of the Snake (2006)
• Oceana (2011)

Trilok Gurtu & NDR Bigband

• 21 Spices (2011)

Hiromi Uehara

• Voice (2011)
• Move (2012)

Drum equipment

Drumkit

• ProMark 707 "Simon Phillips" Signature Drum Sticks

All drums are TAMA Bubinga Elite

• 2 15"x 24" Bass Drum w/Base Mount (Mounted in special position)
• 14"x 20" Gong Bass Drum
• 14"x 18" Floor Tom
• 13"x 16" Floor Tom
• 12"x 15" Floor Tom
• 11"x 14" Tom Tom
• 10"x 13" Tom Tom
• 9"x 12" Tom Tom
• 7"x 10" Tom Tom
• MRM12S mount (for "Pageant")
• Octoban 443mm
• Octoban 472mm
• Octoban 536mm
• Octoban 600mm
• Iron Cobra Hi-hat Stand w/o legs^
• Hi-hat Attachment
• Double Tom Holder
• Special Hardware for Octoban SD & Cymbal^
• Special Hardware for Gong Bass^
• SP164HAS

Snare Drums

• Tama "Gladiator"(5.5x14 1mm bronze black nickel plated)
• Tama "Monarch"(6.5x14 3 ply maple/3 ply bubinga/2 ply maple)
• Tama "Pageant"(5x12 7ply maple) Signature Wooden Snare Drum

Cymbals

• Zildjian A 14" Custom Hi-hats
• Zildjian 10" Special Recording Hi-hats (discontinued)
• Zildjian A 19" Custom Crash}
• Zildjian A 18" Custom Crash} These have temporarily been replaced with Zildjian prototypes(see below)
• Zildjian A 17" Custom Crash}
• Zildjian A 22" Oriental China "Trash" or swishknocker (depends)
• Zildjian A 20" Oriental Classic China
• Zildjian A Custom 22" Ride
• Zildjian A Custom 12" Splash
• Zildjian Proto Type Sound Lab 19"
• Zildjian Proto Type Sound Lab 18"
• Zildjian Proto Type Sound Lab 17"
• Zildjian Proto Type Sound Lab 14"
• Plywood Custom Drum Plinth

Simon Phillips Anniversary Snare Drum SP1465HA

• Shell Material Maple2/Bub3/Maple2ply w/SFR (same shell)
• Shell Size 6.5x14"
• Shell Finish Simon Phillips Anniversary finish (SPA)
• Head (Batter) REMO Ambassador Coated
• Head (Bottom) REMO Ambassador Snare Side
• Lug MSL35HN
• Hoop Customized Triple Flanged Hoop (8 tension)
• Strainer/But MUS80AH/MUS80BH
• Snappy Snare MS20S-S

+ certification card

• Remo Clear Ambassador drum heads (toms, bass, and octobans)
• Remo Coated Ambassador drum heads (snares)
• Remo Timpani drum head (Gong Bass)

^This is a custom piece of equipment.

External links

• Simon Phillips official website
• Simon Phillips Chronology & Releasography Site
• http://www.stevelukather.com/news-articles/2012/06/reggie-boyle-talking-with-simon-philips.aspx
• http://www.stevelukather.com/news-articles/2009/02/reggie-boyle-talking-with-simon-phillips.aspx